Commentary on Emblem 11

The poem is a longer version of an epigram in The Greek Anthology 10.98. Normally
silence was associated with the school of Pythagoras.

The "Pharian Harpocrates" is the god Harpocrates from
Pharos (or Alexandria) in Egypt. Harpocrates or
Arpocrates was a form of Horus, the sun-god, and was
traditionally represented as boy with his finger held
to his lips (Augustine, City of God 18.5; Ovid,
Metamorphoses 9.692; Varro On the Latin
Language 5.57). In Catullus 102, the speaker claims
that he can be trusted to keep his friend Cornelius'
secrets, as a "very Harpocrates." Erasmus took the
phrase "he imitates Harpocrates" as one of his
Adages (Reddidit Harpocratem 4.1.52).

This emblem first appeared in the unauthorized edition of 1531. We give the illustration which first appeared on sig A3r.
In the first authorized edition of 1534 the illustration appeared on page 7.